High schools notebook: Playoff format to stick for ’25; rivalry games take year off

The CIF San Diego Section will again play a football season mostly without predetermined playoff divisions.

Using a system put in place last season, 64 teams will make the playoffs. All divisions except for 5-AA will be decided at the end of the season using MaxPreps.com rankings.

The top four teams as determined by MaxPreps will play in the Open Division bracket, followed by teams 5-16 in Division 1, teams 17-28 in Division 2, teams 29-40 in Division 3, teams 41-52 in Division 4 and teams 53-64 in Division 5.

Division 5-AA, which includes O’Farrell Charter, Clairemont, Palo Verde Valley, Tri-City Christian, Mountain Empire, Calipatria, Foothills Christian, Maranatha Christian, Rock Academy and Victory Christian Academy, is predetermined. So is Division 6, which consists of eight-man teams from throughout the section.

Two rivalry games, Honor Bowl won’t be played

The annual rivalry game between Cathedral Catholic and St. Augustine is taking at least one season off. With Saints moving from the Western League to the Eastern League and Cathedral Catholic playing a statewide non-league schedule, the teams couldn’t find a mutual date.

The Catholic schools have played 61 times since 1966, with Cathedral Catholic (formerly USDHS) holding a 37-24 advantage.

The only other year the teams didn’t play was 2007.

For similar reasons, the East County rivalry game between Grossmont and Helix will also not be played. The teams have played 72 times since 1951, with Helix holding a 50-22 advantage. The Highlanders have won 28 straight against Grossmont.

And after 14 seasons, the Honor Bowl will not be played this season.

The showcase brought together some of the best teams from San Diego and around the country.

“Our initial focus when starting The Honor Bowl was simply to find coaching friends to play football games to honor the Armed Forces and raise money to help returning veterans from the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,” said Mark Soto, co-founder and executive director of The Honor Group. “Looking back, we accomplished more than we expected.”

Lincoln tops in state rankings

MaxPreps has 10 San Diego Section teams ranked among its Top 100 in California.

Lincoln is the highest, ranked No. 11.

Coaches have long preached that the best way to move up in the rankings is to win, and win against out-of-section teams.

All the Hornets’ nonleague games are out of the section, including Punahou (No. 7 in Hawaii), Long Beach Poly (No. 33 in California), Las Vegas Arbor View (No. 2 in Nevada), Mission Viejo (No. 4 in California), Bakersfield Frontier (No. 20 in California) and Sacramento Grant (No. 22 in California).

Cathedral Catholic is ranked No. 20 in the state by MaxPreps. The Dons play out-of-section teams Mountain View St. Francis (No. 58 in California), Chandler (No. 8 in Arizona) and Concord De La Salle (No. 7 in California). La Costa Canyon checks in at No. 29. The Mavericks will play 27th-ranked San Clemente  and Murrieta Mesa in nonleague play.

Other ranked teams include Carlsbad (No. 31), Granite Hills (No. 35), Mission Hills (No. 59) and Helix (No. 83), Mater Dei Catholic (No. 85), El Camino (No. 95) and San Marcos (No. 96).

TV games

For the second straight year, YurView will broadcast select high school football games.

The first one airs Aug. 29 and will pit Lincoln against Long Beach Poly.

That game will be followed in consecutive weeks by Torrey Pines at Rancho Bernardo, Granite Hills at Mission Hills, Cathedral Catholic at Helix and Mount Miguel at Oceanside.

More games could be added down the stretch.

Finding games

Francis Parker’s drop from 11-man to 8-man football left their opponents scrambling for games.

Palo Verde Valley will play at Playa Del Rey St. Bernard on Friday.

Bishop’s plays at Perris California Military Academy on Sept. 11.

Escondido Charter travels to Yermo Silver Valley on Sept. 13.

Santa Fe Christian will play at Christian on Sept. 19. Classical Academy will host Coastal Academy on Sept. 26, and Orange Glen will play at Coronado on Oct. 3

Heat warning

With temperatures expected to soar Thursday and Friday, there is a chance games could be delayed.

As per CA State Law AB 1653 and CIF Bylaw 503.K, all schools must adhere to the CIF Heat Illness Prevention and Heat Acclimatization Policies, using the WetBulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) as a measure of the heat stress in direct sunlight.

San Diego Section schools on the coast fall into Category 1, where the kickoff temperature must be below 86.2 degrees to proceed. Category 2 schools, which include some of North County and East County, is set at 89.9 degrees. Desert schools fall into Category 3, which is 92 degrees.

Lockett moves on

Tay Lockett, an All-CIF selection last season at University City, has transferred to Conway High in Arkansas.

Ranked as the No. 66-best player in the nation by Rivals.com, Lockett has verbally committed to the University of Arkansas and plans to enroll in time for spring ball.

A receiver and defensive back for the Centurions, Lockett caught 33 passes for 556 yards and 11 touchdowns a year ago while recording 107 tackles.